The persistent grief is disabling
and affects everyday functioning…
—DSM 5
Ding! ding!
it has been exactly one year
time’s up
get over it
why are you still stuck, when others move on
after merely six months
don’t you know people are sick of you
ding! ding!
tired of your depression and tedious stories
just because you were married for fifty years
and he insisted on smoke-swirled cigarettes
and you begged him to stop, but hell no
just because you now fly solo and forget to eat
and drink too much and the cat disappeared
and you spend hours staring at old photos of the two
of you climbing Kilimanjaro, sipping rosé in Provence,
hiking in Patagonia, kayaking in Utah
just because your eyes are like sunken caverns
the size of Mammoth Cave
and you check out the half pack of Marlboros
at least twice a day
who cares
ding! ding!
get over it
say the dreary psychiatrists
slumped in leather chairs
who know nothing of time peeled back
who know nothing of love
